Until this year my Phyllostachys aurea has been very well behaved
sending
new cane up in or very close to the existing clump.

This year however it seems to have gone crazy sending out ground level
runners in every direction under the mulch sheet and gravel to 1-2m in
every
direction!

all the references seem to say non-invasive or well behaved except an
American reference to being an aggressive spreader in hot climates.

anyone any experience?


No direct experience, but I did do a fair bit of research (i.e. surfing)
some time ago. The consensus seems to be that Phyllostachys species,
and
P.
aurea in particular, are actually runners rather than clumpers if
they're
happy enough i.e. given sufficient sun/nutrients.


Oh, pairs of spherical objects! I shall have to be more observant in
future - at least it seem to run on the surface rather than diving deep to
reappear at random locations.

Well it does seem to often be sold as a well behaved bamboo, when there are
plenty of stories to the contrary.

A couple of weeks ago, on that 'inner city gardening' program on Channel 4,
the presenter chappie (forget his name) carefully selected a P. aurea for
the garden he was working on. He even pointed out that he was choosing it
because it was described on the label as being 'non invasive' or somesuch.